You tried to gather your courage to say something as you stood in the doorway of the living room. You must have taken too long to find your words to apologize, though, because she noticed you first. “Oh! You’re awake! I do hope you are alright. You made me worried.” She started as she set her book down to stand, and you tried not to let your panic rise again. “I-I’m alright miss, uh… I won’t lie… I never thought the rumors of monsters would be… I was pretty shocked and it didn’t help that my trauma was triggered…” You tried to explain as she padded over. “Yes, I understand the throws of a panic attack well, I did not mean to worsen it. I apologize.” You took a deep breath, smiling at the sincerity of her apology. You nervously offered a hand, hoping to patch up whatever rift you may have put in between the two of you. “I’m [Y/N]...” You introduced yourself as you started to relax a little. She smiled as she shook your hand. “I am Toriel, Caretaker of the Ruins. I do hope we can be friends.” You believed that could happen. “Sounds like a plan to me, Mrs. Toriel.”

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It took a little time to get used to… everything. The Ruins, the monsters, magic. Toriel was kind enough to let you stay with her, though, as you adjusted. You hadn’t seen the twisted flower since that first day and hadn’t been triggered since him. Honestly, this is what you’d hoped for in running away. A living fairytale, in a way. Far from the worst of humanity, far from the hurt and trauma. All the monsters you’d met were nice, but Napstablook was the one who seemed to get along with you the most. The depressed ghost seemed to understand that bad things happened and knew when you needed to talk and when you just needed a friend near. They often spoke of his own hardships without family and how nice it was to have a friend. You were honestly happy to be there for them. It was funny, really. You never quite had friends before, but you would consider a literal ghost the closest. You always wanted to be there for them.

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Toriel was making snail pie. You weren’t quite looking forward to it, but if you had learned anything in your life, it was to take what you could get. You couldn’t afford to be picky. You were leaning on the railing that led down to the rest of the Underground, but you weren’t particularly interested in leaving. From what you understood, King Asgore was down there and in the business of killing humans for their souls. You certainly didn’t wanna put up with more traumatic experiences. Toriel had been nervous when she first caught you looking down below, but you just liked to stare into the darkness below and imagine times before. Winter was what came to mind the most, a sledding hill and warm hot chocolate. Seeing Santa at city hall as a girl… how would your son have liked that, given the chance… You sighed and pulled away from the railing to see how the desert was coming along.

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You came out of your room late into the night to find Toriel heading downstairs. You frowned softly and moved to get a blanket around you before following her. You wanted to ask what she was doing up so late. Perhaps the cold helped her when she had nightmares? You fetched a blanket from your room before you headed down the stairs for the first time since you came here nearly a month ago. Your socked toes curled in reaction to the freezing stone floors as you made your descent into the dark, purple hall. You followed the pathway the only direction it went, tightening your grip around the fabric of the blanket. Why was it so cold? It couldn’t be just because the heat rose, right? You turned the corner and down further until you saw Toriel standing there.

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There was a voice, deep and masculine from what you could tell, talking, but you couldn’t understand what he was saying. Your brows puckered in confusion, and you opened your mouth to speak up and ask who he was. “I hear her crying during the night… If you know anyone who could help her, I would be very grateful, my friend.” Toriel said before you could ask. “Toriel..?” you asked tiredly, hoping that you weren’t interrupting the man. Toriel jumped and swiveled her head to look at you. “What is going on..?” Toriel seemed to shake off her surprise. “I… Well, I… I am talking to a friend. Come. Why don’t you introduce yourself?” You shivered and nodded, wrapping the blanket tighter as it seemed to get colder in your approach. “Hello..?” You started, then paused. “I’m, uh… [Y/N]...”
“sans… it’s nice to meetcha. my friend says you’ve been having some difficulty sleeping?” You frowned and gave Toriel an accusatory look. “I’m fine.” You grumbled. “I am worried about you, please, don’t be difficult.” Toriel tried, but you weren’t happy she spoke of personal matters with a stranger. “I’m fine.” You stated more firmly. “I’d like it if you'd stay out of my business.” You turned to go back upstairs. “well, have a goodnight then. but if you do wanna talk about it… you may find someone may get it. and if not, well, i know a guy who can make it go away with one meal. think about it.” The mysterious man got the last word in as you stalked away.

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As you lay in bed, you replayed his words in your head. Thinking about it, he’d sounded tired, too. Of course, it could’ve been due to the late hour, but a small part of you wondered if his life had also been rough. Still, you didn’t like them talking about it, about you. You just wanted to move on from the trauma and live your life. Maybe a good meal was a start… if you decided to even go out into the rest of the Underground like Toriel seemed to be discussing with the unknown monster. For now, you just wanted to sleep.